I am taking a cue from another adoptive mom's blog by asking if there is anybody out there still reading our blog. I would love to get some comments to reassure me that my comments and pictures are not floating forgotten in cyberspace. All of us of course need to know that there are voyeurs out there enjoying our musings. Of course Van would also like to know that his celebrity was not a brief flicker but still burns strong. I look forward to plethora of comments to come ;) Also feel free to describe yourself if you are someone I don't know personally (or even if I do know you).
M :)
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Play-date fun
One of the joys of being a parent is the opportunity to hang out with other parents and their kids. We try to do this as much as possible as it gives us an opportunity to hang with other adults who know what it's like to be a parent, and Van really seems to enjoy the hustle and bustle associated with other small children being present. We especially love our play-dates with other families who have adopted from Vietnam. It is nice that Van will be able to grow up with other children who have similar backgrounds and experiences as him.
Hanging with Hudson at Hudson's 1st birthday party:
With Laura and out of town visitor Alexander. Van: "Hmmm what are they doing and why is daddy taking a picture of them?"
"I know, if I walk in front of them daddy will take my picture instead"
On Saturday we went to our neighbourhood park with our friend Brodie and her little guy Sam. We hadn't seen them in awhile so it was great to have the boys spend some quality time together although Van is still in parallel play mode.
Sam trying to run off with Van's stroller:
Van enjoying the space to run:
"I want to get in"..."No I want to get in":
Sam: "Come on Chibi! Play with the ball", Van: "If you ask nicely she may even agree to lick the inside of your mouth and clean up any cookie crumbs that may be lurking". (parent's note, we attempt to stop this whenever we can lol. But Van really enjoys it, yikes!):
Enjoying all that a park has to offer:
Hanging with Hudson at Hudson's 1st birthday party:
With Laura and out of town visitor Alexander. Van: "Hmmm what are they doing and why is daddy taking a picture of them?"
"I know, if I walk in front of them daddy will take my picture instead"
On Saturday we went to our neighbourhood park with our friend Brodie and her little guy Sam. We hadn't seen them in awhile so it was great to have the boys spend some quality time together although Van is still in parallel play mode.
Sam trying to run off with Van's stroller:
Van enjoying the space to run:
"I want to get in"..."No I want to get in":
Sam: "Come on Chibi! Play with the ball", Van: "If you ask nicely she may even agree to lick the inside of your mouth and clean up any cookie crumbs that may be lurking". (parent's note, we attempt to stop this whenever we can lol. But Van really enjoys it, yikes!):
Enjoying all that a park has to offer:
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Update on stuff and the return of our adoption video
Is there anybody left still reading our blog? lol. I hope so. There may be the occasional lapse in blogging but I intend to continue musing about our lives as a family of three so don't abandon us yet :)
A fair amount has happened since the last blog entry. Van and Pat went to Nova Scotia for 10 days to visit with Pat's family in Cape Breton and my mom and friends in Halifax. Van did very well and of course everybody was very excited to meet him. Pat also did extremely well as, in essence, a single father. I missed them of course but made sure to enjoy my time alone. It won't happen again for a very long time! Here are a few pictures of Van the celebrity on his rounds through NS.
Meeting his grandmother Lewis at the Sydney airport:
With his Aunt Michelle:
With Aunt Joan:
With Uncle Glen:
With his cousins:
At the ocean for the first time:
With my best bud Charlotte:
With Ba (my mom Mel) O'Toole and grandpa Mick ;)
Perhaps you are wondering about his development? Well he is walking...well, running basically. Still a bit drunken sailorish but falls are becoming more and more rare. We have decided to start introducing a bowl and spoon to him so he can practice. He is very keen and focuses on trying to master the use of the spoon. I let him bang around for a bit then take the spoon show him how to scoop up the food then give him the spoon back with the food on it so he can put it in his own mouth. He really enjoys it. It is really neat to see him recognize the spoon and bowl as functional as opposed to just a toy to be chewed on or thrown on the floor as he would have a couple of months ago. It is fascinating to watch him develop, it really is. Here is a pic of him "practicing".
He is still babbling like a maniac. He can say mama, dada and ya although I am not sure he understands the meaning. His babbling is definitely more complex these days and he will have whole conversations with us. I am sure he expects that we understand. We do nod our heads and talk back which seems to satisfy him lol. Here is a video of him in full babble mode. I call it ode to broccoli. I think he's explaining to us the reasons why he doesn't like it.
In other news, little dude has started daycare. We took him a few times last week to introduce him to the other children and experience the morning routine. Then this week we had a couple of partial practice run days. To our surprise he adjusted very quickly and has been full time since yesterday. It is an amazing home daycare with 3 other children. It is structured and the woman who runs it is an early childhood educator so it is the best combination between the intimacy of home daycare and the structure of a larger daycare with a curriculum. We think it's the perfect fit for Van and so far he is fitting in perfectly. I have a little sadness about this as there is a small part of me who wishes he was upset about being away from us. However I know it is in his best interests that his adjustment is smooth.
And, he has had another haircut. This time at a better place. His hairdresser was very nice and fussed over him (as it should be). We asked for a shorter cut because we really can't afford haircuts every month lol and his hair grows so fast! Here is a before and after.
We finally found a site to upload our adoption video that also allows us to embed it into the blog. Here it is!
A fair amount has happened since the last blog entry. Van and Pat went to Nova Scotia for 10 days to visit with Pat's family in Cape Breton and my mom and friends in Halifax. Van did very well and of course everybody was very excited to meet him. Pat also did extremely well as, in essence, a single father. I missed them of course but made sure to enjoy my time alone. It won't happen again for a very long time! Here are a few pictures of Van the celebrity on his rounds through NS.
Meeting his grandmother Lewis at the Sydney airport:
With his Aunt Michelle:
With Aunt Joan:
With Uncle Glen:
With his cousins:
At the ocean for the first time:
With my best bud Charlotte:
With Ba (my mom Mel) O'Toole and grandpa Mick ;)
Perhaps you are wondering about his development? Well he is walking...well, running basically. Still a bit drunken sailorish but falls are becoming more and more rare. We have decided to start introducing a bowl and spoon to him so he can practice. He is very keen and focuses on trying to master the use of the spoon. I let him bang around for a bit then take the spoon show him how to scoop up the food then give him the spoon back with the food on it so he can put it in his own mouth. He really enjoys it. It is really neat to see him recognize the spoon and bowl as functional as opposed to just a toy to be chewed on or thrown on the floor as he would have a couple of months ago. It is fascinating to watch him develop, it really is. Here is a pic of him "practicing".
He is still babbling like a maniac. He can say mama, dada and ya although I am not sure he understands the meaning. His babbling is definitely more complex these days and he will have whole conversations with us. I am sure he expects that we understand. We do nod our heads and talk back which seems to satisfy him lol. Here is a video of him in full babble mode. I call it ode to broccoli. I think he's explaining to us the reasons why he doesn't like it.
Ode to broccoli from Patrick Lewis on Vimeo.
In other news, little dude has started daycare. We took him a few times last week to introduce him to the other children and experience the morning routine. Then this week we had a couple of partial practice run days. To our surprise he adjusted very quickly and has been full time since yesterday. It is an amazing home daycare with 3 other children. It is structured and the woman who runs it is an early childhood educator so it is the best combination between the intimacy of home daycare and the structure of a larger daycare with a curriculum. We think it's the perfect fit for Van and so far he is fitting in perfectly. I have a little sadness about this as there is a small part of me who wishes he was upset about being away from us. However I know it is in his best interests that his adjustment is smooth.
And, he has had another haircut. This time at a better place. His hairdresser was very nice and fussed over him (as it should be). We asked for a shorter cut because we really can't afford haircuts every month lol and his hair grows so fast! Here is a before and after.
We finally found a site to upload our adoption video that also allows us to embed it into the blog. Here it is!
Bringing Home Our Little Water Buffalo from Patrick Lewis on Vimeo.
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